Srinagar, Jan 1: The Jammu and Kashmir Crime Branch on Thursday said it has filed a chargesheet against the accused in a case involving fake appointment orders in the Agriculture Department.

A statement mentioned that the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Crime Branch Kashmir has filed a chargesheet before the Court of Judicial Magistrate 1st Class, Chadoora, Budgam, against two accused persons in a case related to forged and fake appointment orders in the Agriculture Department, in an alleged attempt to cheat aspirants of government employment.

The statement said the Economic Offences Wing has submitted the chargesheet in connection with FIR No. 43/2021 registered under Sections 420/511, 467, 468, 471 and 120-B of the Indian Penal Code.

The chargesheet has been filed against Showkat Ahmad Hajam, son of Mohd Akbar Hajam, resident of Wagoora, Tehsil Chadoora, District Budgam, and Irshad Ahmad Ahanger, son of Ghulam Mohd Ahanger, resident of Ratnipora, District Pulwama.

According to the statement, the case originated from a communication received from the Deputy Director, Agriculture, alleging that a woman had attempted to join the Directorate on the basis of a fake and invalid appointment order.

It was reported that on November 30, 2019, the woman visited the Agriculture Department office with a photocopy of a purported official communication bearing No. Agri/ESstt-NG/2018-19/8451-53 dated November 22, 2019.

On verification, the communication was found to be fake and fictitious, as it had not been issued by the Directorate. Further scrutiny revealed that the appointment orders referred to in the communication — Order No. 385/Estt. of 2019 dated April 26, 2019, and Order No. 16/Estt. of 2019 dated January 29, 2019 — were also forged.

During the course of investigation, it was established that accused Irshad Ahmad Ahanger had obtained the forged communication from co-accused Showkat Ahmad Hajam.

The forged order falsely showed three persons as selected and appointed as orderlies in the Agriculture Department, Kashmir Division.

On the basis of the fake appointment order, one woman from Pathan area of Pulwama district was cheated and induced to believe that she had been legitimately appointed. Acting on this belief, she attempted to join the Agriculture Department, Kashmir, at Srinagar on November 30, 2019.

The investigation further revealed that the accused persons had entered into a criminal conspiracy to prepare and use forged appointment orders with the intention of cheating aspirants seeking government employment. Although no monetary transaction or wrongful gain or loss could be established during the investigation, the act constituted an attempt to cheat, thereby attracting Section 511 of the IPC, the statement said.

Accordingly, upon completion of the investigation, the chargesheet has been filed before the competent court of law for judicial determination, the statement added.

Mumbai: In a major action ahead of the BMC elections, Mumbai Police’s Shivaji Park Police arrested a man in possession of high-quality counterfeit currency notes from the vicinity of Dadar Railway Station.

Police recovered fake currency notes with a face value of ₹72,000 from the accused. All the seized notes were in the denomination of ₹500 and were found to be of high quality. The arrested accused has been identified as Amruddin Sheikh (61).

According to police officials, there is suspicion that the seized counterfeit notes may have been smuggled into India from Bangladesh. Further investigation in this regard is underway.

Police have also revealed that the accused had previously used counterfeit currency worth several thousand rupees. Investigators are now probing where and how these fake notes were circulated. Further investigation is in progress.

Netizens took to social media to express anger and disappointment after the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) headquarters witnessed no New Year’s Eve celebrations this year, breaking a long-standing annual tradition. The iconic NMMC HQ building is usually the attraction of the grand midnight festivities, featuring fireworks, decorative lighting, and large public gatherings to welcome the New Year.

Every year, thousands of residents flock to the headquarters building around midnight to witness the celebrations and ring in the New Year together. However, on the night of December 31, 2025, the venue remained dark and silent, leaving many visitors confused and disappointed.

Reportedly, the NMMC had officially cancelled the New Year’s Eve event due to the enforcement of the Model Code of Conduct ahead of the upcoming elections. Under these guidelines, government bodies are restricted from organising large-scale public celebrations or entertainment programmes funded by the state, to maintain neutrality during the electoral period.

To comply with these rules, the civic body decided to call off all official festivities at the headquarters this year. Despite the announcement, many residents claimed they were unaware of the cancellation. Large crowds reportedly gathered at the NMMC HQ, expecting the usual fireworks and light shows, only to be met with a complete absence of celebrations.

Clearer public messaging could have prevented confusion and unnecessary crowding. Some users also questioned why at least minimal decorative lighting was not arranged, even if large-scale celebrations were restricted. One user commented, “Bhai… Kya hogya, NMMC ko….they used to decorate so much on this day…inko kya hua. (What happened to NMMC, they used to decorate so much on this day.)”

While authorities announced earlier that the decision was taken strictly in adherence to electoral guidelines, the disappointment.